INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES

Now that you have the potential candidates, it is time for the interview. To me, the interview sets out to do the following things:-
(i) It is to assess the candidate. In other words, meeting the person and seeing whether the person’s character will fit into the organization. It is always nice to have a pleasant and cheerful person around. It "brightens" up the office and brings a lot of positive energy (yes, I do believe in feng-shui!) to the office. Sometimes, all it takes is just for one person to create disharmony in the office. This will become a real challenge when one staff member after another starts leaving because they can’t work with that one person.
(ii) It is to see how the person interacts. You can tell a lot by just seeing how the candidates answer the questions. I have seen candidates talking non-stop as if they have not been given a chance to speak for a long time. Some candidates like to boast about his or her past achievements. I have also seen candidates bad mouthing their ex-bosses or criticizing their former employers. To me, these candidates are definitely out of my radar screen. Any candidate that speaks negatively about their former employers or bosses will have the potential to say the same about you or your company when he or she leaves.

HOW DO I START THE INTERVIEW?
For starters, you may want the candidate to fill-up the application form. Unless, your organization is a large organization or the job requires special skill, I am of the view that the application form should be short and simple. As most of the applicants will have their resume prepared, there is no need for duplicity in the application form.
There are a number of ways to begin an interview. Some interviewers like the candidate to speak first to see how much the candidate will reveal of himself or herself. On the other hand, there are interviewers who like to begin by introducing the candidate to the company. In other words, what the company does and hopes to achieve. By laying the foundation, the interview proper will then begin. Personally, I prefer the interviewer to introduce the company to the candidate before the candidate speaks about himself or herself. Some people would say that is not a good idea as this will give the candidate an opportunity to provide tailored answers, giving the impression that they are suitable for the position by highlighting their skills and qualities according to the Company’s requirements. I would strongly disagree with such comments. If anything, the candidate will be in a better position to know what is expected of them.